Punished Titanium
by Ghostwriter
Summary: The demons aren't finished with Ryan.


PUNISHED TITANIUM

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

This is an idea I had and decided to run with. It's only a one-shot. Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. Takes place after "The Cobra Strikes".

Ryan said goodnight to the other Rangers and then went into his room, where he changed into a pair of pajamas. _Man, am I glad __**that**__'__**s**__ over with_, he thought. Worrying about that blasted tattoo had been driving him nuts. And he knew it had scared Dad and Dana, especially since they had just gotten him back. _Heck, it scared __**me**_, he thought to himself. He had just barely turned twenty, he didn't want to die. Ryan yawned and then climbed into the bed. Well, there was no sense in dwelling on that anymore. The Cobra Demon had been defeated and the tattoo was gone leaving him free to morph without fear. With a smile, he drifted off to sleep. _ Ryan looked around. __The palace? How'd I get back here?__ he wondered._

_ "Did you __**really**__ think we were done with you, Ryan?" _ _With a gasp, the Titanium Ranger turned around. To his horror, Vypra was standing on top of a pillar, just like Diabolico had been. With a yell, Vypra encased Ryan in the gold bars. The boy panted nervously and tried to escape, but to no avail._

_ "You're not going anywhere. We told Queen Bansheera all about your defection and she wasn't happy at all," Vypra stated. Ryan struggled against the bars._

_ "You won't get away with this," he told her. Suddenly, Bansheera's imaged loomed over him_

_ "You remember the punishment for the disobedience…don't you, boy?" the demon sneered as a whip appeared in her servant's hands. His face paled. _

_ "Vypra! No! Please!" Bansheera laughed. _ Pain flitted across the sleeping boy's face and he let out a small cry. He tossed and turned, as if trying to escape. However, it didn't come. He curled into himself and whimpered. _Ryan groaned as the whip came down on his chest again._

_ "Please…please…please, Vypra, please," he whispered. He was knocked to the ground by the next crack of the whip. Ryan raised arm to protect his face. The whip struck his flesh and he cried out in pain. Then, Vypra lashed out with the whip again, this time, letting the instrument wrap around Ryan's arm. Ryan yelled in surprise as he was knocked off of his feet. Vypra laughed. She had the Titanium Ranger at her mercy, right where he belonged. _ Ryan screamed.

"Ryan!" Captain Mitchell, Dana, Joel, Kelsey, Chad, and Carter all rushed into the room.

"Ryan, you're having a bad dream, wake up," Captain Mitchell said as he and his daughter hurried to the boy's side.

"No, Vypra! Please, no!" Ryan exclaimed, and then screamed again.

"Father, what's happening to him?"

"I don't know." Ryan let out another scream, which turned into a whimper.

"Vypra, please. Please. Please…don't hurt me anymore…**please**." Carter inhaled sharply. Then, his expression became concerned when Dana let out a gasp.

"Father, look!" Captain Mitchell followed Dana's gaze and his eyes widened. Ryan's chest was covered with crisscrossing whip marks.

"Ryan, you gotta wake up!" the man shouted, shaking his son's shoulder. Ryan whimpered again.

"Please…please…no more." Father and daughter watched as new marks appeared on his chest.

"Come on, Big Brother, wake up!" Ryan tossed and turned some more until he finally jerked awake with a final cry. He panted.

"I gotcha, Son. I gotcha,"

"I woke everyone up? I'm sorry."

"Don't be. We're just worried about you."

"What happened man?" Joel wondered.

"Nightmare. That's all," Ryan responded.

"Your chest begs to differ," Dana countered. "We need to get you to the med bay." Ryan shook his head and pulled away.

"I'm fine. It was just a dream."

"I'm not taking 'No' for an answer, now let's go." Before Ryan could protest anymore, Dana pulled him up and dragged him towards the med bay, the others at her heels. Once in the med bay, the physician on shift began treating his wounds. Ryan winced.

"Man, those look really nasty," Joel commented.

"Ryan, what happened?" Carter asked.

"They told Bansheera I defected. Let's just say she wasn't pleased," Ryan answered. Then, he winced in pain as the peroxide hit his wounds.

"My apologies." Once he was finished, he turned to the others.

"There's no need for bandages, though he'll be sore for a bit, and there should be no permanent scarring," he reported.

"Thank goodness," they all sighed.

"All right, everyone, back to bed," Captain Mitchell ordered, and except for Ryan and Dana, they went their separate ways. Outside his door, Ryan bit his lip. He wasn't sure if he wanted to sleep alone again. What if he had another nightmare?

"Ryan, could-could I sleep in your room tonight?" Dana asked hesitantly. He turned to her. "I just don't want to be alone," she told him.

"Yeah, that'd be fine," he answered, and they went in. Ryan removed the pillow and the top blanket and then got into his bed.

"Dana?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks, Little Sister."

"Anytime, Big Brother."

THE END


End file.
